Sargent Co., ND - Description and History, 1884 This file is a complete transcription of the descriptive information about Sargent County as found in A. T. Andreas' "Historical Atlas of Dakota", 1884. SARGENT COUNTY This county lies on the 46th parallel of north latitude, the line cutting the county about five miles from the south boundary, leaving the bulk of the county in north Dakota. It contains nearly the equivalent of twenty -five congressional townships, equal to 900 square miles or 576,000 acres. A part of the Sisseton and Wahpeton Indian Reservation, covering about ninety square miles is included in this county. The principal stream in the county is the Wild Rice River, which heads in the southeastern portion around the swell of land of which Airy Mound is the culminating point, and flows northeast into Richland county. There is a large number of lakes and marshes in this county The largest body of water is Lake Tewauken, on the northern edge of the Indian reservation, which covers about 1,000 acres, and is a beautiful sheet. Its extreme length is a little more than two miles, and its greatest breadth something less than a mile. The Wild Rice River passes through this lake. Lake Kandiota in the center of Highland Township, covering about 500 acres, is another beautiful one. It has no apparent outlet. Near Milnor, the present county seat, are four or five lakes, with areas varying from 160 to 400 acres each. In the northwest part of the county are two quite extensive but somewhat marshy lakes, one known as Lake Dill. Many smaller one are scattered over the surface of the county, particularly in the eastern and middle portions. The largest body of marshy land is in the southwest part of Town 130, Range 57, about five miles in length. The hilly region surrounding Airy Mound , in the southeast part of the county, includes an area mealy equal to a congressional township. This seems to be the center of an extensive water-shed drained by the Wild Rice, James and Minnesota rivers. The lower course of the Wild Rice River in this county is considerably broken by bluffs and ravines. A group of low sand hills in the northwest corner of Town 132, Range 53, is covered with a growth of scrubby timber. Around the lakes lying contiguous to Milnor, the country is somewhat broken, and extending through Township 129, 130, and 131 of Ranges 57 and 58, is a rough, hilly and broken region, in places covering an area nearly four miles in width. On Sections 21 and 22, Town 130, Range 55 is a prominent ridge, having a considerable elevation above the prairies, and about one mile a little west of south from Dunbar, is a knob rising about fifty feet above the prairie, to which the name "Peeble Mountian" has been give. It resembles a potash kettle turned bottom up. The White Stone Hills extend into the township of the same name, and constitute a prominent feature of the landscape. Small groves of timber are found occasionally along the Wild Rice River, near the margin of some lakes, and on the eastern slopes of the Airy Mound region. The average soil of the prairies is a black loan, underlaid with a sub-soil of yellow clay. In the hilly and broken portions the soil is lighter and better adapted to grazing. The great bulk of the county is good land, and the surface a gently rolling prairie. Three railway lines, one partly constructed, and two proposed, traverse the county, to wit: the Northern Pacific, Fergus & Black Hills line, which is running as far west as Milnor; the Valley City & Turtle Mountain line, and the Dakota & Great Southern line, the last two passing through the central portions of the county north and south. The county is divided into fourteen school townships, partly named and partly numbered. The portion of the Indian reservation included in the county is not organized into townships. This county was organized in the fall of 1883, and the county seat located at Milnor, but we have not been able to obtain an account of the organization , or a list of the county officers. MILNOR, the county seat of Sargent County, was laid out September 6, 1883, on Section 9, town 132, Range 54, near a beautiful lake, and on the line of the Northern Pacific, Fergus & Black Hills Railway, of which it is the present terminus. The place has a weekly paper, the Sargent County "Teller," published by Messrs. Falley & Hughes; two hotels, three real estate offices, a half dozen mercantile houses, a railway depot, a livery stable, a lumber yard, two blacksmith shops, and althogether fifty buildings or more, with a population of several hundred. It is at present the seat of jusitce, but as the county becomes settled, it is likely that a more central point will become chosen. It will probably be a good point for trade. DUNBAR is situated on a greatly rolling prairie on Section 18, Town 131, Range 55. It was laid out in June 1883. A.H. Laughlin owns a half interest in the town plat. The place has a weekly newspaper, the Sargent County "Item." Messrs. Turner & King, proprietors; a general store by Laughlin & Turner; a hardware store by Yesgerm & Aneny; a hotel by R. Thomas; a law and real estate firm (Turner & Worden); B. F. Pyatt, real estate; the Fargo Lumber Co.; and Laughlin, Palmer & Co. dealers in machinery. SARGENT is situated in Town 130, Range 57, at the proposed crossing point of the Northern Pacific, Fergus & Black Hills and the Dakota & Great Southern railways; was laid out February 15, 1883, by P. H. Rourke and George S. Montgomery. It stands on a gentle slope of the prairie, and is in every respect finely located. It contains a store or two, a blacksmith shop, a boarding house, and several dwellings. If the proposed railway are built, the place promises to become an important business point, and a formidable competitor for the county seat. The name of the post office is Blackstone. RANSOM CITY was paid out on the 3d of March, 1883, by R. Holding, on the southeast quarter of Section 1, Town 130, Range 54. It has a general store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a weekly paper (The Pilot), a real estate agency, and several dwellings. It is on the Wild Rice River, in a good location for trade. FORMAN is located int eh exact geographical center of the county, on the northeast quarter of Section 1, Town 130, Range 56. It was laid out August 18, 1883, and contains a hotel, a general store, a lumber yard, and several dwellings. Other post offices are KANDIOTA, HAMIN, TEWAUKON, BRAMPTON, VIVIAN and HARLEM.